2 separate committees to produce findings by May 1

By Sarah Kuta, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
01/20/2014 09:18:30 AM MST

Updated:
01/20/2014 03:59:13 PM MST

University of Colorado sociology professor Patti Adler delivers her first lecture of the semester in her controversial "Deviance in U.S. Society" course on the Boulder campus Tuesday. Adler said she dressed as a homeless person for her opening lecture. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

The University of Colorado's Boulder Faculty Assembly announced the formation Monday of two committees to review the school's treatment of tenured sociology professor Patti Adler and the role of the campus' Office of Discrimination and Harassment.

In a memo to the faculty assembly and faculty senate, Boulder Faculty Assembly chairman Paul Chinowsky explained the need for the two committees, which each will be tasked with producing a report of their findings by May 1.

Chinowsky said in an interview with the Daily Camera that the two committees will review separate topics, though both will be objective, unbiased and fair in their assessments.

"We're not trying to identify blame in anything," Chinowsky said. "We're not starting out with any preconceptions that anybody is right or wrong. My feeling is there's enough right and wrong to spread around. The committees are there to try and answer peoples' questions in as informed a manner as possible."

"The Adler case showed the importance of clarifying all relevant policies and procedures that can aid faculty in implementing instructional techniques," Hilliard wrote in an email. "We welcome the opportunity to work with the BFA to highlight these policies, make adaptations to them if necessary or adopt new policies."

Two committees

One of the faculty group's committees, dubbed the Patti Adler Review Committee, will investigate whether established university policies and procedures were followed in Adler's case, which stemmed from controversy around a prostitution skit in Adler's course "Deviance in U.S. Society."

Mike Klymkowsky, BFA vice chair, will head the Adler committee, which will be made up of five full or associate professors in the assembly and an appointed representative from the Arts and Sciences Council. That council is the representative body for all faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.

That committee will look into the facts surrounding the situation, the policies and procedures that should have been followed in the case, whether CU's administration followed those procedures, recommendations for avoiding situations like it in the future and whether the fundamentals of academic freedom and responsibility were followed.

"People just keep asking questions," Chinowsky said. "What really happened? How did we get from someone having concerns to a faculty member thinking they were being forced out? What was the process? People just want answers to what were the processes and were they followed correctly."

The second committee, called the Policy and Procedure Committee, will review established Office of Discrimination and Harassment procedures. This committee may recommend improvements to those procedures, and is also tasked with creating materials to help faculty better understand how that office works.

The policies and procedures committee will be made up of 11 faculty members.

"The lack of education is leading to concern and fear," Chinowsky said. "We want to get rid of that."

Adler: Review 'necessary'

Adler said she's glad the faculty assembly decided to review not only her situation but the Office of Discrimination and Harassment, which she prevoiusly has described as being comprised of "witch hunters."

"It's really necessary," Adler said. "There can be no trust without openness and there needs to be a system of checks and balances in place or else units that are founded on good purposes can get out of control and end up having bad consequences."

Adler said she was investigated by the Office of Discrimination and Harassment last semester for one of her lectures on prostitution, which is taught with a skit. She said she was then told she could retire immediately, or return to campus and not teach her course on deviance. Ultimately, the university allowed Adler to return and teach the course this spring.

Because much of the situation surrounding Adler deals in personnel matters, which are confidential, Chinowsky recognized that the committee might be limited in gathering information about her case.

Chinowsky said the two committees are the first special, ad hoc committees the BFA has created "in several years." The assembly has many standing committees, including academic affairs, student affairs, diversity and others.

"They're reserved for issues that we think are important, but don't fit in one specific committee," he said. "This is the formal body for faculty to look at something that goes across campus."

Chinowsky said he has discussed the two committees with CU's administration, and for the most part "everyone is very willing to cooperate."

"The climate, at least to start this process, is good," he said. "I don't feel like we're starting off from an adversarial position."

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